Category Archives: Writing

Reading, writing, and no arithmetic

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First, the reading:

I have successfully finished Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (which was fun) and The Mealworm Diaries (which would be more impressive had I remembered to put it on my list of half-finished books in the first place). But, I started yet another book: Smile, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeir. It’s very cute and girly and is well on its way to becoming the first graphic novel I ever finish.

Next, the writing:

I just finished the first draft of an early reader. It may or may not ever see the light of day, but it was hugely fun to write. Also a good exercise to have to fit character, action, and style into 6000 words. The whole package is so teensy… I’m kind of in love. I’m sure that soon I’ll fall completely out of love, as I begin to see the problems in the manuscript (for example, at the moment it starts on Monday, ends on Saturday, and has only two days in between), but it’s good to enjoy infatuation while it lasts.

And finally, the lack of arithmetic:

It’s official. The teachers are striking next week. Then there are two days of school, followed by two weeks of spring break. If I don’t surface on this blog every once in a while, send help. Preferably in the form of an umbrella-carrying magical nanny. And send a nice book with her, too, okay? Because some of those things on my current list are just too darned dark.

The Wikipedia challenge

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Here’s a little part of my Saturday presentation which brought some good comments and questions.

Non-fiction has changed in the last decade. Ten years ago, I could say “I want to write a book about famous fires” and six months later, Voila.

Today, there’s a teensy little problem:

You can look up fire on here and find everything you ever wanted to know, and more. There is absolutely no need to buy a book.

So, a non-fiction book today has to have a concept. Something to make it fun. Something that will make kids choose to read paper instead of screen.

It has to have 50 silly questions. Or, it has to have cartoons. Or, in the case of my new book, about blood, it has to have a side-story told in graphic novel form, about a boy slowly drawn into a society of vampires.

It has to have something.

Wikipedia limits us. We can’t create a simple collection of facts. Wikipedia challenges us, as writers, to do more, and do better.

And it also frees us. Because all the facts are here, at the click of a mouse. We don’t have to give our readers all the information. If they’re interested, they can look it up. We just have to hook them. We have to convince them that fire is way more interesting than they ever would have guessed, looking at a list of facts.

Willpower and the writing life

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New on my to-read list: Willpower by John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister. I read about the book on Brain Pickings and now I’m going to have to get my own copy.

I’m sure every writer and freelancer depends on willpower. Not to mention every mother. Willpower, or the lack thereof, is why this happens to me on a daily basis:

10 a.m.
Son: Can I have a cookie?
Me: No.

12 p.m.
Son: Can I have a cookie?
Me: No.

2 p.m.
Son: Can I have a cookie?
Me: No.

3 p.m.
Son: Can I have a cookie?
Me: Take it! And get out! Get out of the kitchen!

Three o’clock is not a good willpower hour for me.

Strangely, a lack of willpower only affects my work when I have very little to do. If I have ten e-mails to answer, they all get powered out, one by one. If I have a single e-mail, it languishes in the in-box.

Likewise, if I have a stack of work teetering on my desk, my stomach roils and I can’t sleep until it’s done. A single revision? Much more difficult, willpower-wise.

And then there’s the willpower necessary to face the blank page which, in my opinion, is not willpower at all. It’s the desire to write overpowering the desire to accomplish the functional activities of daily life, and usually involves this sort of mental trickery:

  • I’ll just open the file.
  • I’ll just read what I wrote yesterday.
  • Stop interrupting me. I’m writing!

Does that count as a plan? Would that satisfy the Zeigarnik effect outlined in the Brain Pickings piece? Or could I be accomplishing exponentially more if I just had the right to-do list?

I’ll soon find out. Or I would, if I ever had the willpower to make it through my to-read list.

Waiting for the stork

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Seeing Red is out in the world… somewhere.

I heard that the balance of black, white, and red was so tricky that a representative from the publisher was on site at the printing press. I heard that the printers were so happy with the final results, they’re entering the book in a print competition. I heard it looks fantastic!

And I haven’t seen it. Yet.

The un-event

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Oh. My. Goodness.

Here is the introduction I was supposed to give for Robert Heidbreder at UBC’s Authorfest last Thursday evening:

I was very excited to accept this opportunity, because my 7-year-old daughter is one of Robert’s biggest fans. She discovered his work last year when her grade-one class read Don’t Eat Spiders, and she’s been chanting his poetry around the house ever since.

Doing my research for today, I learned that Robert was an elementary school teacher for 30 years. In 2003, he won the Prime Minister’s Award for teaching excellence. It was during his time as a teacher that Robert began writing for young children.

I’m sure those kids in his classroom inspired Robert, but when I read a book like Lickety-Split, I see something else. Something that obviously helped Robert be as good a teacher as he is a writer.

Even though he’s an adult, by the looks of him, he’s managed to keep his child-like sense of humor. His wonder and sense of discovery and curiosity.

Kids look at the world from a different point of view, and it’s not just because they’re only three feet tall.

I recently walked through my kitchen, where my kids were playing with Tinker Toys. I heard my daughter tell my son: “We’re really good at this. We could probably be real spaceship designers, if anyone would hire a seven-year-old and a five-year-old.”

Childhood is another planet, and most of us, sometime around grade seven or eight, we move to a place that doesn’t spin quite so fast or bounce quite so much. Robert… well, judging by his work, I don’t think he ever moved off that planet. He has a little more bounce and spin than most of us.

I am thrilled to introduce him here today.

But I didn’t introduce him, because I was busy looking like this…

…except with more wrinkles. I had the flu, and it was a doozie.

So, I missed Authorfest. Thankfully, the lovely Kathryn Shoemaker filled in for me. A friend came and collected my son for the morning. I was supposed to organize a fundraising contribution for my daughter’s class, and another friend took care of that. Min came home from work early to feed the kids lunch.

It was almost worth being sick just to remind myself of all the wonderful people in my life.

Almost.

Kind words

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A few recent reviews!

For 50 Underwear Questions:

“…a highly recommended resource for all curious readers who enjoy a good laugh.”
—Resource Links, December 2011

“. . . a bright bold, attractive book that grabs your attention right away.”
—Back to Books, January 20, 2011

And for The Lowdown on Denim:

“This cleverly designed book engages the tween to adult market with fun facts, catchy titles, witty responses and action-packed comic strips…”
—Resource Links, December 2011

“…a thorough, well researched, chronological history of denim jeans.”
—CM Magazine, January 13, 2012

Only the positive…

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With the world ending, and temperatures rising, and guys like Joe Oliver running the country, it’s so easy to think of the negative. So I’ve made a list of all the good things that happened this weekend:

  • I wrote a chapter. I’m working on an early reader at the moment, and there are huge advantages to this. Three pages, and I’ve finished a chapter. It’s such a shortcut to that warm, fuzzy feeling of accomplishment. (For the sake of this all-positive post, we’re ignoring the possibility of future rewrites.)
  • My family went sledding! Yes, it’s true. No one threw up. No one cried. We drove to a mountain and we accomplished a winter recreational activity. Hallelujah!
  • I was once again NOT hit by falling space crap. Such a relief.

And, looking ahead to good things to come this week:

  • My laptop, which was hogged by my husband all last week, has now been returned to me. (Actually, it was returned on Thursday, but without the power cord. I immediately hired divorce lawyers and they have since rectified the situation.) With luck, I can sit in Blenz, pretend I’m in Paris, and finish yet another three-page chapter.
  • My friend Jacqui and I are going to a play! A play by Bill Richardson and Veda Hille. For that, I’d walk through space junk. Probably.

In the news…

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Some lovely person at Quill & Quire looked at Seeing Red, and had this to say:

Junior CSI fans might enjoy Seeing Red: The True Story of Blood (Annick Press, $14.95 pa., $22.95 cl., Feb.) by Vancouver author Tanya Lloyd Kyi, who informs readers about all things sanguineous, from sacrifices to forensics. One hopes accompanying illustrations by graphic novelist Steve Rolston only required a bit of sweat and tears.

Thank you, Quill & Quire, especially for the use of the word “sanguineous.” I wish I’d used that in the book!

As far as I know, Steve has now stopped bleeding from his eyeballs and is once again able to work on other projects.

Resolutions, retroactively

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I read Joanna Karaplis’s blog post last week about retroactive resolutions and I have to say, THAT is the best idea ever. I hereby retroactively resolve to:

  • Serve on the jury for a fiction award, fall in love with scads of wonderful middle-grade novels, and visit the optometrist about the eye twitch that developed part-way through.
  • Leave the house at 8:46 each morning sounding more like Mary Poppins, and less like Cruella Deville.
  • Finish my YA novel and submit it to agents.
  • As the grocery gatekeeper, feed my family more vegetables.*
  • Speak in public on numerous occasions, wearing appropriate clothing most of the time.

Success on all counts!** What a shocker. I’m so pleased.

* They did agree they would rather starve than eat kale. Even kale fried with bacon. But you can’t win ’em all, right?

** With the exception of the whole Mary Poppins thing. Yeesh. Who can live up to that woman? Besides, the whole curtain-wearing thing didn’t work out, and I look lovely in black and white spots.

New year news!

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Here’s my big news for the week: I am officially represented by an agent.

You should see me on billboards in my bikini anytime now.

NO, NO, NO. Not THAT kind of agent. Yeesh, what a way to cause car accidents. I mean a literary agent.

Her name is Patricia Ocampo and she works with Transatlantic Literary Agency. As I’ve been writing a little more fiction recently, she’s going to help find my books new homes in the big, wide world.

She’s great. I’m a wee bit excited. So, pop the bubbly! Or at least, drink the dregs from New Year’s Eve.

(Pardon? It’s 8 a.m.? Well, that’s just one more reason to work from home, isn’t it?)